Looking Back
by amythedork
Summary: AU. A look back at some Puck/Rachel moments from childhood to adulthood. Includes some sweary words. 'It begins with two very young children; a little boy and a little girl.'


Hey guys. So this story was fun to write, even though it isn't my best writing. I was listening to Taylor Swift's _Mary's Song (Oh My My My) _and the idea kind of came from there. All mistakes are mine, since I didn't really proofread. Also, blame my Britishness for any strange-looking spellings, haha. I hope you guys like it. :)

Sorry guys, FF is being mean to me and having formatting issues, so if this story is set out weirdly, after the many times I've tried to fix it, I apologize! :(

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It begins with two very young children, a little boy and a little girl. They're both three years old and they're sitting on a pink carpet, playing with a baby doll. The girl wears a pink dress, all ruffles and bows, with her curly, brown hair tied back into a neat ponytail. The boy wears jeans and a red t-shirt, which both appear to be covered in chocolate.

"Noah, you be the daddy." The little girl says bossily, holding the doll close to her chest protectively, the way a real mother would hold her child.

The little boy shakes his head stubbornly. "No, I want to be the dog, Wachel."

"No, the daddy!" Rachel demands, her small pink lips forming a pout. "You need to be the daddy so you can mawwy me!"

Noah huffs crossly, pushing the doll out of Rachel's arms and onto the floor. "I don't want to mawwy you."

Rachel's lower lip trembles, and her big, brown eyes fill with tears. From elsewhere in the room, Noah's mother gives him a warning about being mean, but even before she can finish speaking, Noah is picking up the doll and handing it back to his friend, and apologizing.

"Sowwy, Wachel. I want to mawwy you."

-x-

Rachel and Noah are seven now, and are standing in front of the tree in Noah's backyard, obviously having an argument. It's the tree in which Noah's father built him a tree-house out of guilt, before abandoning the family completely. Noah is leaning against the ladder that leads up to the tree-house, and Rachel is standing in front of him, her hands on her hips.

"Noah, why won't you just let me up?"

"Because you're a girl!"

"So?"

"So you can't come up because girls have cooties!"

"What's that?"

"It's like a disease! Finn told me!"

"I don't have a disease!"

"I don't believe you."

"You're being mean, Noah!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"_Are too_!" Rachel's voice is a sound of sheer frustration, and she drops to the grass with an exasperated sigh. Noah looks down at her but doesn't sit next to her. Instead, he sits on one of the steps on the ladder.

"Are you still my best friend, Noah?" Rachel says tearfully, after a few seconds of silence. Noah's face is puzzled.

"Uh-huh, why?"

"It doesn't feel like you are. You always play with Finn now, and you never let me play with you." Rachel scowls at the thought, staring at her glittery, white shoes as she picks a daisy from the lawn. Her feelings are hurt. It's always Finn now, and she wonders what she did wrong. Noah hesitates before moving away from the ladder to sit beside her.

"Well," he says, expression serious. "Finn's my best guy friend. You're my best girl friend."

"So why won't you let me play with you?" She looks up at him tearfully, dropping the daisy on the grass.

Noah looks uncomfortable. "I told you. Finn says girls have cooties."

Rachel shakes her head earnestly. "But I don't! I haven't been to the doctor for a long time so I can't have a disease."

"But Finn says..."

"Didn't Finn tell you that if you put Bekah in the closet she'd disappear and never come back?"

"Yeah. It didn't work. Mom got so mad about that."

"Well maybe he's not right about cooties either."

Noah thinks about that for a second before standing up and holding his hand out for Rachel to take. "Wanna come up and play?"

-x-

Rachel beams a beautiful smile, even with one of her bottom teeth missing. She takes his hand and lets him pull her to her feet. "Yes please."

The two nine year olds are sitting close together at the kitchen table, doing their English homework. Rachel is writing furiously, the tip of her tongue peeking through her lips in complete concentration, whilst Noah is swinging his legs as he draws a picture of a lion at the back of his workbook.

"Noah, did you write your ten words for 'k'?" Rachel looks up, frowning disapprovingly at his picture.

"Yup." The boy pops the 'p' at the end of the word, now drawing fire around the lion.

"I got kitchen, knight, koala, kangaroo, kayak, kingdom, kettle, knife, keyring, and kitten. What did you get?"

"King, kid, kick, karate, key, kite, and kiss." He says, uninterested, not looking up from his picture.

"Your words are small. And you only have seven." Rachel stares at him, putting down her pencil. "Wait. Kiss?"

"Yup." Once again, he pops the 'p'. "And I couldn't think of anymore."

Rachel nibbles on her lower lip for a few seconds before she speaks again. "Did you know that Mike kissed Brittany on the jungle gym today at lunchtime?"

"Yup."

Rachel pauses again, her heart beating a little faster. "Have you ever kissed a girl?"

"Yup."

Rachel's eyes widen and she turns her entire body to face him, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Who?"

"I kissed Santana last week. We were playing truth or dare at Finn's house after school."

The girl looks a little hurt at this, and she pulls her knees up to let her feet rest on the chair. "Why was Santana there and not me?"

"She wasn't. She's Finn's neighbour. That was the day you were sick." Noah continues drawing, not even looking up from the paper. His lion now has horns and a devil's tail, and Rachel doesn't think it looks much like a lion anymore.

"Oh."

She turns back to her homework, writing only one word before she's turning to Noah again. "What was it like?"

"What, kissing?"

"Yes."

The boy shrugs, finally putting down his pen and looking back at her. "I dunno. Why?"

Rachel looks a little unsure, but somehow eager at the same time. "I've never kissed anyone before."

"Want me to kiss you?" Noah asks simply, his expression neutral, though the boy isn't quite sure what the fluttery feeling in his stomach is.

Rachel nods and blushes. "Yes please."

So Noah moves closer to her, his lips puckered and his eyes closed. Rachel keeps her eyes open and moves to meet him, like she saw the pretty girls do in the movies. She's a little nervous. Just as their lips are about to meet, she quickly turns her head away, and Noah presses his lips to her cheek.

"You moved." Noah accuses, and he's a little disappointed.

Rachel blushes even harder and looks down at her hands. "Sorry, I got scared."

Her best friend grins, and remembers that he was a little scared about kissing too. "S'okay. Have you finished your math yet?"

-x-

Thirteen year old Rachel is dressed in a pretty purple party dress, complete with a pair of silver heels. Her hair is in wavy curls down her back, but pinned at the top with a silver hair-piece. She is making her way grandly down her staircase whilst her two fathers watch her descent proudly at the bottom.

"You look so gorgeous, babygirl." Richard smiles at her, kissing her hand as she approaches them. Rachel laughs, a sound of happiness and excitement.

"Why, thank you." She says sophisticatedly, and giggles, sliding on a purple cropped cardigan which matched the dress perfectly. "Have Maggie and Noah arrived yet?"

"No, your boyfriend isn't here yet." Paul grins slyly, handing his daughter her silver clutch. Rachel sighs and rolls her eyes, putting her favourite lipgloss in the bag.

"Daddy, you _know_ Noah and I are just friends. _Please_ don't embarrass me."

The doorbell rings just as she finishes speaking and Paul moves to open the front door. Maggie bursts in with a wordless shriek of pride when she catches sight of Rachel. She sweeps the girl up in her arms, tears in her eyes.

"Rachel, sweetie, you look so beautiful! So grown up. You're going to have such a wonderful time tonight!"

The teenager laughs and hugs Maggie back, catching sight of Noah over her shoulder. She beams at him, noticing how handsome he looks in his light blue shirt, dark jeans and black Converse, the shoes that the boy practically lives in. Behind him stands Rebekah, his little sister, who is staring at Rachel with a look of complete admiration. When Maggie finally lets go, Rebekah wraps her own arms around Rachel's waist and smiles up at her.

"You look really pretty, Rachel." She says wistfully, and Rachel knows the little girl wishes she could go to the dance too. She kisses the top of Bekah's head. "Tomorrow, you and I will have our own dance, Bekah. I'll do your make-up and everything. I'll help you look exquisite."

The little girl beams and lets go of her pretend-sister to go stand with her mother, who is fishing around in her overly-large purse for a camera.

Rachel and Noah are forced to stand together and smile for pictures, and it's easy, comfortable. The teenagers are happy and excited about their first proper school dance. Noah tries to be discreet when he whispers in his friends ear that his mother is right and that she does look great, but everyone hears it anyway, and Rachel blushes. Hard.

-x-

"You got me a truck?" It's Noah's seventeenth birthday, and his face is a picture of surprise and happiness. He looks over at his mom, Rachel, and Paul and Richard, who all chipped in for his gift, and he is overcome with a sudden rush of love for all of them.

Maggie nods and moves to hug her son, who hugs her back tightly before moving on to hug Rachel's dads. "You guys... Thank you. You didn't need to do that."

"We wanted to." Paul smiles, as Richard tosses him the keys. "It's cool, we just won't get you any presents next year." He laughs, jokingly.

Noah laughs too, and moves to Rachel, kissing her lightly on the lips like he's now done hundreds of times before. "Thank you."

Rachel beams at him, touching her forehead to his. "Do you want to go for a drive?"

"Fuck yes!"

"Noah, Puckerman! Language!"

"Sorry, mom."

Rachel laughs as Noah takes her hand and drags her to his new truck, opening the door for her and lifting her in, before moving round to the driver's side.

"Be back at six! Remember, Finn, Matt, and Mike are coming to help you set up for your party."

"I know, mom. Chill."

He starts the engine and the truck runs smoothly. Grinning, he leans over to kiss his girlfriend again, before pulling away from the sidewalk, and driving away from the house. Maggie, Paul, and Richard are left with smiles on their faces. Maggie has tears running down her cheeks.

"They grow up so fast." She sniffs, and Richard hugs her gently.

"They sure do."

Paul watches the truck disappear round a corner and out of sight. "In less than ten yeas they're going to get married."

Maggie smiles. "You think?"

"I know. I've always known." He turns to face his husband and their friend, a nostalgic expression on his face.

"I believe you. I've known since last year. At their first Glee club performance, remember? Rachel was doing that duet with Finn, and Noah couldn't keep his eyes off her. I swear, I've never seen someone look so jealous before in my life." Richard chuckles.

Maggie makes a murmur of agreement. "I've known since they were nine. That almost-kiss at your kitchen table. I can't believe you managed to film that without them noticing."

Richard smirks, remembering. "We'll embarrass them with that one day."

-x-

The screen fades to black just as the sweet melody fades to nothing. The lights in the large hall flicker on again, and every single person in the room has a smile on their face. Twenty-five year old Rachel Berry wears a watery sort of smile, has tears running down her cheeks and has a hand on her heart as Noah rubs her back, laughing.

"Shit. I was kind of a bastard, as a kid. I blame Finn."

Everyone laughs at that, including Finn who sits next to him, punching him in the arm.

"Noah Puckerman! Language!" Maggie Puckerman's voice is playful and firm at the same time.

"Sorry, mom." Noah is sheepish.

Paul Berry stands up then, his face a picture of pride and joy. He clears his throat to speak, and everyone in the room falls silent to listen to him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, first of all I'd just like to take the opportunity to thank you for being here to celebrate Noah and Rachel's special day with us. As you can see by our video presentation, we've known for a long time that this day would come, and we couldn't be happier that it has finally arrived. Richard and I have always thought of Noah, Maggie, and Rebekah as a part of our family, and now it's official, and we're thrilled. I'm trying to keep this speech as short as possible, because I know that if the speeches cut into the dancing time, a certain Broadway star will not be happy."

Rachel blushes and giggles, hiding her face in Noah's shoulder as the crowd of a hundred laugh at her.

"So to sum it up: Noah, welcome to the family that you've already been a part of for the last twenty-five years. You make Rachel happy, and I know that she will continue to be happy in her life with you. We wish you both all the luck in the world for your future together."

Paul finishes his speech by raising his glass, a movement that everyone follows as they toast the happy couple. The toast is followed by applause and cheers and smiles and music.

Then, Maggie makes a statement which causes Rachel and Noah to look at each other in an amused sort of horror, and Finn almost dies laughing at the thought.

"Oh, and we expect beautiful, Jewish grandbabies! Soon!"

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**If you liked it, please review? They really make my day. :D**


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